>> thank y >> as we conclude, i just want to emphasize how grateful we are to god for making a.w. possible for ten years. we don't take this privilege lightly. we're most thankful for the hundreds of lives that have been touched literally around the world and for having chonda join us is like icing on the cake. her life personifies our message that even good christian women have struggles. god is faithful and in the end, there's always something to laugh about. thanks to you our viewers and supporters for hanging in there with us. you are all aspiring women, and we believe the best is yet to come. see you next time! >> well, that's a song about menopause and you forgot the words! ñ

>> george: today on christian world news, arrested in libya. four christian workers are in custody for preaching the gospel. >> wendy: plus, syrian refugees take shelter in jordan, and find compassion from a christian ministry. >> george: and it is the adventure of a lifetime. this woman's worldwide wait to bring the gospel to the law. ♪ >> george: four christians sit behind bars in the north african nation of libya. hello, everyone, i'm george thomas. >> wendy: and i'm wendy griffith. libyan officials say the foreign missionaries are accused of distributing christian literature.

as gary lane reports, that is a charge that could carry the death penalty. >> reporter >> on monday we arrested a group. we found a print shop in the area in benghazi city. we found 45,000 christian books. >> reporter: the foreigners were reportedly printing pamphlets complaining christianity. the material was mostly directed towards children. but proselytizing in libya is a criminal offense, punishable by death, according to a law carried over from moammar gadhafi reign. >> we are a 100% muslim country. this issue is not negotiable. >> reporter: the four missionaries are in custody in benghazi. the group is made up of a swedish american, an egyptian, a south african, and a south korean. libyan officials allow sharif to speak to the media. he says he was brought here from the moment they arrested him.

and that he has been treated respectfully and not abused. he went on to admit the group was in libya to spread christianity. an official presence said there were also espionage allegations against him because he refused to meet with anything anyone from his embassy. ramsey said he declined because he knew he would get little help from egypt. >> george: gary joins us now. he has been to libya since the revolution and he is back from other parts of north africa. and joining us by skype is todd neddelson, from voice of the martyrs, here to talk about the persecution in east africa. gentlemen, welcome. gary, this country, liberated by nato, and now we have this issue of preaching the gospel. what's going on here? >> it is not a democracy, and these laws are hold-overs from the moammar gadhafi period. they haven't changed anything. they're still on the books. they're still going by them.

you have people saying this is an islamic country, even though we thought what we were doing, and the french as well, was creating a new democracy. not so. >> george: and they were showcasing all of the paraphernalia they had covered, and even interviewed one the egyptian contacts? >> ramsey, and i met with him a year and a half ago when i was in libya, and he is just a christian who wants to share the gospel. trying to share jesus with the libyans. many are very receptive, but they're trying to stop it. >> george: you're just back from mali where the government and french forces have been fighting islamists fundamentalists. do you see what is going on in libya as an outgrowth, that this radical islamist support is growing in this particular part of the world? >> in mali, the resistance monoor anti-government movement started with the guardi movement. he used them trying to fight against the revolution in

libya. after that was finished, they moved into their own area in mali and tried to take over the north. and claim it as an independent state. but then they were co-opted by al-qaeda, and another group called anwa sadim. >> george: and obviously, you know libya is awash with weapons. >> all over africa. >> george: todd, let me bring you into this conversation. we're seeing now the islamic fundamentalists, and their influence is speading to east africa, and notably kenya and now tanzania. tell us quickly what is going on there? >> we'll seen over the last two weeks two different christian leaders have been killed in tanzania. one was an assembly of god pastor who was killed by a mob in the northwest part of the country. the other was a catholic priest, who was shot outside his church on the way to sunday morning services.

the interesting thing, in the second case, the group that has taken responsibility for killing the priest, praised their fighters, which had killed him, but also mentioned that they had had training in somalia. so clearly a link with what is going on in somalia, and potentially a link with al-shabob, with these attacks in tanzania. >> george: this is terrible seeing what is going on in east africa. i was born in tanzania, very familiar with this part of the continent. these are majority christian nations. how is the church responding to the situation? >> as you say, they are a majority christian nations. and so i think the church is a little bit surprised to see these kinds of attacks. and there is some fear there. there is some fear of what does this mean for our churches? what does this mean for our country? one of the things we can pray for is for the christian response. and particularly up in the northwest, there is a lot of animosity relate now between christians and muslims. we need to pray that the christians will be able to

forgive and rerespon respond with love, instead of responding with acts of vengeance. >> george: that's good. gary, africa is the epicenter of the explosion of christianity, no doubt about it. but there are these pockets, libya, tunsisa -- do you get the sense there is a concerted effort, or -- >> there is. and don't forget nigeria as well. it is spreading throughout africa. the goal is to islamize the entire cont te continent and create a califed there. >> you talk about north and south nigeria, and there is a different religious makeup. we have seen it in sudan. i think we'll start to see it in some other places as well. i'm told there are significant parts of

tanzania that are almost 100% muslim. those areas we'll probably see more persecution, but i think you'll see it expand out from those areas into other parts of the country and other parts of east africa as well. >> george: terrific. todd neddelton with the alway awesome group, voice of the martyrs. and gary, as always, thank you for your insights. >> wendy: the family of an american pastor prisoned in iran has released a letter. ahe says he is facing violence and psychological warfare. he says conditions inside, even prison, are torturous. writing, quote,"they are only waiting for one thing, for me to deny christ, but they will never get this for me." the american center for law and justice has filed a petition for abedini's release. >> george: they are

calling for the release of an american pastor detained in russia. thomas cane has been held in tula, russia, since september. officials interrogated him for several hours about the status of a foreign worker helping to build his house. cane paid a small fine and paid a thousand rubles to help the police in their work, and that's when they arrested him on charges of attempted bribery. the timing of the arrest is suspicious because pastor cane intended to open his house of joy ministry the other day. we asked his daughter about the charges. >> it doesn't amount to much, like $30 u.s. they detained hem for five months for something that seems very petty. he already paid the fine. he wasn't really asking for anything else. and it really was just an offering to them. >> wayne >> george: beverly cane says her father planned to open the house of joy as a

place of spiritual retreat. >> wendy: what is it like to leave home, walk for miles, and end up in a foreign land. for the past two years, hundreds of thousands of syrians have faced that challenge. as chris mitchell have found out, many are making it work with help from christians. >> osana is one of 600,000 refugees. >> the situation in syria is very bad, very dangerous. president assad destroyed everything. he destroyed homes. i live in hope. they destroyed the city, and most of them have no work, no food, no water, no electricity. they are in a bad situation now. >> reporter: according to the u.n., these refugees are spread across turkey, lebanon, and jordan. and now some of those refugees and their children are finding relief. some churches in jordan are trying to redeem the tragedy in syria, and many of these syrian refugees here are experiencing the love of christians for the very first time. >> they said you are with

us. >> reporter: this pastor reaches out to hundreds of these refugees. it is dangerous work, so we hid his identity for security reasons. >> take this opportunity to show the light inside the darkness. the people go outside syria. they are hopeless. and before they didn't have a chance to listen about the gospel, about jesus. but right now we have a chance to show them the love and our faith through what we do for them. >> reporter: their help includes hot meals, church services for the children, and clothes for families who often have nothing but what is on their backs. some of these children went from conditions like this to this. and there are opportunities to talk with someone about their situation. many of these muslim women, some now widowed, would not have stepped inside a church in syria. >> there wouldn't allow anybody to talk with them

about jesus. but here we are in need -- and we don't want to say we're using their needs, but while we're feeding them and taking care of them, there is an opportunity to share the love of god, which is more important than the food and the glory. so we're caring about their souls as we care about their bodies. >> reporter: it is a ministry osama appreciates. >> we need it. it is good for us right now because we didn't have any work. we need all of the help we can get. it makes a difference for us right now. >> reporter: chris mitchell, cbn news, jordan. >> george: up next, she has taken on 11 countries in 11 months in a race to preach the gospel of jesus christ.

>> george: so imagine quitting your nine to five job, you leave everything you own behind, and you embark on a nearly year-long mission trip. 11 countries in 11 months. >> wendy: wow, sounds neat. it is known as the world race. and i recently sat down with one young woman who decided to embark on this adventure of a lifetime. ♪ >> and these cultures that we're going to, people don't care what you look like or what you smell like.

they care about the message that you have. >> reporter: 28-year-old emily wright of virginia beach left her job, her apartment, and her family to take the world race challenge. that means over the next 11 months, emily will visit 11 countries for about 30 days each. >> you know, i'm excited just to be a part of something bigger than myself. >> reporter: her adventure began helping orphans in mozambique. and from there she goes to south africa, india, nepal, thailand, cambodia, vietnam, malaysia, mal dova, and will end her race in nigeria. emily and her team will work with local churches and ministries in the region. >> the ministries could range from vacation bible school to working in

orphanages, to ministering to women and children who have been in human trafficking, especially in south east asia. >> reporter: emily's group is part of a larger team of about 50 racers, who have been asked to travel light. >> i will have one backpack for the entire 11 months. i'll be taking a tent, so times we'll have accomodations, and sometimes we won't. >> reporter: how do you feel about going a week without a shower? >> i'm the type of girl who can handle that. in training, we had practiced. we were living in the woods for about a week, a group of 50 people. >> reporter: world race founder seth barnes came up with the idea several years ago, to give young people an alternative to the nine to five routine. >> we push people to do what we call a loop 10 kind of journey. where they go out and take virtually nothing, and they

know they've got all spiritual authority, and we asked them to pray for all local needs and see what god does when he hose up. it inevitably changes them. as they depend on god with total dependency. >> reporter: he says thousands of young people apply each year because they're looking for more. >> by leaving all of the stuff that has defined us, and allowing god to open up his possibilities in all different cultures, they find there is more to life. that this yearnin yearning that they've had inside has an answer. >> reporter: one thing emily and her team are discovering is that missionary work can be tough, and spiritual warfare is real. emily shared this blog from mozambique. "the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. in ministry, i see children dying in the hospital who have nothing, no bedsheets, no food, no doctors, no paper towels to wipe up

their mess. it is so easy to see the hopelessness in the darkness. but the truth is god has authority over every seemingly hopeless situation. he is trustworthy, he is good, and he is our healer, and ultimately, he has already defeated sickness and death." if you would like to take the world race challenge, you need to be the ages of 21 and 35, and have a heart for missions and adventure. it will cost you about $15,000 for the entire journey. but you don't have to have it all before you go. emily says although the journey is not always easy, her mission remains the same: god's love. >> whatever form that takes, giving them shoes or even taking them out for an evening. jesus said to heal the sick, cast out demons and raise the dead. so they really ask you to have that kind of faith. >> wendy: isn't that

cool? you can follow emily's adventure online, and see what country she is in, and help her cause by going to her blog page. you can find a link on our website, cbnnews.com. the world race launches three times a year. so there is still time to get on board for 2013. if you're between the ages of 21 and 35, which i think we might be over that. >> george: maybe we get special dispensation. >> wendy: but they have things for older people, too. >> george: i would do it. >> wendy: emily is currently in swaziland. we're praying for you. >> george: folks, coming up, the baby drop. one korean minister is giving unwanted children a shot at life.

>> wendy: welcome back. a documentary about a south korean pastor who rescues disabled babies has won the top prize at a christian film festival. >> george: a very moving

story. it tells the story of pastor lee rock, who discovered that hundreds of these babies are abandoned every year. so he built a drop box in the wall of his home so their parents would leave them with him. here is charlene israel. >> reporter: on this normal residential street in seoul, korea, a sign says "place to leave babies." this is a baby box. a thick towel covers the bottom, and lights and heating keep a baby comfortable. a bell rings when someone puts a baby in the box. and a helper comes to immediately move the baby inside. this past year six infants, or small children, were rescued here. they are physically or mentally handicapped or babies from unmarried mothers who can't care for their children. >> his skull is not shaped right. his note says, he has this handicap. i am so sorry, but i am not able to raise this baby.

so i put him safely in the baby box of jesus' loving union church. >> reporter: official reports say about 600 infants are abandoned in the streets every year, but the number is probably higher. only about 20% of abandoned infants or children are rescued and placed temporarily in juvenile protection centers. hundreds are sent to die on the streets. the numbers of infant deaths and abandoned children are bound to get worse as the rate of children born to single mothers increases. government efforts have not kept up with the need, which is why christian professionals developed the baby box. >> it is best for the parents themselves to raise their children. but when the country does not perform its function in this situation, it's important to save the lives of babies first. >> reporter: reverend lee first introduced the idea of the baby box in korea as a temporary solution, to keep abandoned babies alive. >> there is no reason for

the baby box to exist if the government takes care of the children's safety and making them happy. the baby box should go. but right now there is only inaction and lack of concern. >> reporter: but reverend lee hopes that better social services for parents and their special-needs babies will some day make the baby box unnecessary. charlene israel, cbn news. ñ

>> george: finally this week, it has been two months since super hurricane bopha ravaged the southern philippines, killing more than 1,000 people, and leaving more than a million homeless. >> wendy: cbn disaster relief teams are still on the ground serving the victims. >> reporter: most of the typhoon's victims are still misplaced and they're struggling to recover from the massive destruction it has cost. and the continuous rains bring more flashfloods and devastation. so now the people are getting desperate, after

living for months in makeshift tents and evacuation centers. that's why the cbn disaster relief teamj (pj not left ground, finding ways to alleviate their hardship. the village chief was emotional as he thanked cbn for coming to their remote village to give medical care and fix their water pipes. >> you are the first organization to ever hold a medical mission here. thank you for coming. you have made all of the people here very happy. >> reporter: cbn also helped victims get back to work after the storm washed away their means of making a living. >> the storm destroyed everything we had, our house, our fishing bottle. that was my only source of income. >> we have to beg for food from our neighbors because we have no money to buy food. i told my husband, god is our only hope. let's pray to him and ask for help. >> reporter: when cbn gave them a new fishing boat, it